This year, two Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup cars were under the roof at Bas Koeten Racing. Esmee Kosterman took action with car number 65, while Stefan Barewijk drove car number 34. For both, it wasn’t their first season in this 140 HP front-wheel-drive cup car, but it was Esmee’s first season with an overall victory.
After seven events and fourteen races, Esmee secured P3 in the final standings of the championship, behind Tomas de Backer and Alan Czyz. She finished second on the podium in the first race of the Finaleraces at TT-Circuit Assen and won the overall in the last race. A fantastic performance to conclude the season.
Giving It Their All
Kosterman looks back with pride on the past months. Esmee says, ‘The goal at the start of the season was clear: I wanted more. More podium finishes, more learning, giving it everything that was possible this year. And that’s exactly what happened!’
As a member of the KNAF Talent Junior Academy selection, she once again participated in the KNAF Academy program, the training program of the KNAF. Besides various workshops, physical training was also part of this program, a good complement to the championship. What season 2024 holds for Esmee? She hasn’t completely decided yet, but undoubtedly, it will align with the ambitions of the past season: ‘Even more!’ Esmee laughs.
Crucial Starting Class for Driver and Crew
Since 2018, the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup has held a permanent place on the race calendar of Bas Koeten Racing. Jelle Koeten says, ‘We see it as a crucial starting class. It’s an accessible car with a suitable race format, allowing young talent to lay the groundwork for their future. Former Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup participants Loek Hartog, Daan Pijl, Jop Rappange, Dante Rappange, and Colin Caresani have now climbed to the Porsche Supercup and various GT3 championships.’
Since then, there has also been a collaboration with students of Technova College Racing, who took care of the technical support for the second Ford Fiesta. Stefan Barewijk is the regular driver. Bas Koeten Racing is responsible for guiding the students, with Bas Koeten overseeing their progress. Thus, the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup serves not only as a starting class for drivers but also for the technicians of the future.
Student Luca Westland, representing Technova College Racing, was partly responsible for the technical aspects of Barewijk’s car this season: ‘It was an interesting season where I learned a lot. The car ran almost flawlessly, allowing Stefan and me to focus on performance because that’s ultimately the goal.’ Stefan finished the season 7th overall and a commendable P2 in the Gold Cup behind Johan Land.
Other highlights of the 2023 season: